Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Kaira Rouda's Here, Home, Hope. My stop includes all the details for the book, my review, and a giveaway!
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Here, Home, Hope
by Kaira Rouda
Genre: Women's Fiction/Chick Lit
Release: May 1, 2011
Source: I received a complimentary copy, as part of the blog tour, in exchange for an honest review
Rating: 3 Bookworms
Synopsis
Kelly Mills Johnson becomes restless in her thirty-ninth year. An appetite for more forces her to take stock of her middling middle-American existence and her neighbors' seemingly perfect lives. Her marriage to a successful attorney has settled into a comfortable routine, and being the mother of two adorable sons has been rewarding. But Kelly's own passions lie wasted. She eyes with envy the lives of her two best friends, Kathryn and Charlotte, both beautiful, successful businesswomen who seem to have it all. Kelly takes charge of her life, devising a midlife makeover plan.
*National Indie Excellence Book Award for Chick-Lit (2011), Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Award Nominee for Mainsteam/Literary Fiction (2011), USA Best Book Awards for Fiction: Chick Lit/Women's Lit (2011)
Purchase Here, Home, Hope
- I liked the premise as of Here, Home, Hope as I think many women go through a mid-life crisis and should know it's normal and okay
- I like a story set in a small town with a large cast of characters
- I enjoyed seeing how Kelly's personality was reflected in how she discovered her passion and made the change she was seeking
- I admired that Kelly made a decision to affect change in her life and she did it
- I like that Rouda is trying to empower women through her writing - both to make changes in their lives and to know they can start their own businesses
- I adored that Kelly's husband, Patrick, always supported her
But...
- I felt the pacing was off - too fast - as everything seemed to happen so quickly
- It upset me that Kelly didn't discuss anything with Patrick until after the fact
- I didn't necessarily feel Patrick's reactions were realistic - he was never upset - and maybe he was just used to her acting in the manner but I, as a reader, wasn't
- The conflict - cancer scare, depression, anorexia, divorce, death - all resolved so quickly and easily as to make it not much of a conflict
- The quick/easy conflict resolution meant that several characters were rather one-dimensional
Overall, this was a pretty good read. It had its good points but it could have been a much richer experience. And that was disappointing to me considering the 'bones' Rouda was working with and her good intentions.
About the Author:
Tule Publishing Group's Southern Born imprint is publishing her new contemporaryromance series set on INDIGO ISLAND: WEEKEND WITH THE TYCOON, Book 1; LINES IN THE SAND, Book 2; and THE TROUBLE WITH CHRISTMAS, Book 3. Four more books in the series will be out in 2015.
Her nonfiction title, REAL YOU INCORPORATED: 8 Essentials for Women Entrepreneurs, continues to inspire women internationally.
She lives in Southern California with her husband and four almost-grown kids, and is atwork on her next novel. Connect with her on Twitter, @KairaRouda, and on Facebookat Kaira Rouda Books. For more about Kaira and her books, please visit wwww.KairaRouda.com.
At a glance, it seems like you and this book would be a match made in heaven, especially given all of the similarities between you and the main character. It's a bummer that you didn't connect with Kelly as much as you had initially hoped, but there's no quick fix for a story that falls short on pacing, nor one where the conflict is resolved overly easily. Happy Friday, Brandee!
ReplyDeleteCarmel @ Rabid Reads
Yep, Patrick was great. And a bulleted review did rock! LOL
ReplyDeleteThanks, Carmel. I really did hope to like this one more than I did. I did like it though. And I wouldn't discourage anyone from reading it. It was kinda inspirational. I think it'd make more of an impact on someone who hasn't already been through this situation...or is making their way through it.
ReplyDeleteI hope you had a happy Friday!
I like your bullet style review! Seems this one had some good and some less good points. Pacing is always a difficult issue, when a book is too slow or too rushed it can really influence how much I enjoy a book. Kelly sounds like an interesting character although the fact she doesn't tell her husband about things until after the fact would probably rub me wrong as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kim. It did make me sad but I would still recommend the book.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lola! I enjoyed doing the review this way. :) Yes, the book did have it's good points...and then its lesser points. But it's just my opinion. And I think that reading something like this could really be empowering and inspirational to someone who, maybe, hasn't already lived through something like this.
ReplyDeleteGreat review, not my type but loved the review. :)
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a different kind of read.... looks like the positives outweighed the negatives though. Great review!
ReplyDeleteNaomi @ Nomi’s Paranormal Palace
Thanks, Stormi. :P
ReplyDeleteYou know, I used to only read books like this - well, this genre anyway. That's one of the reasons I picked it. But although it was good, it just wasn't what I was looking for, I guess. Thanks, Naomi!
ReplyDelete